I squirmed uncomfortably. The thought occurred to me that I should havebegged off, should have said I wasn't feeling well, that it was a schoolnight a...d I needed my rest, but that seemed a bigger tip off than anything.And besides, Melinda would just laugh and say that I didn't have a choice,that she was bound and determined to force me to enjoy myself, even if Ihated every minute of it.Yeah, Melinda was like that.The bar that Quincy picked was a bit out of the way and not overly crowdedwhen we. I don’t plan for you to be far.”I put up my hands in surrender smiling, “Pack. You will come to my house.” I paused. “Mom said this would happen.”“Your mother is a smart woman. Keep listening to her. I like her.” She grinned. “I think me at your house will probably be better because it brings down the temptation level. I’ll leave a note for Marie and pack for the weekend. I’ll ride with you and return Sunday night. I’ll need to drive to work Monday. We’ll be going in separate directions then.”. Seeing her two friends happy made it seem possible to her that that kind of happiness might be within her grasp. She allowed Thomas to take her to a local pub and found she quite enjoyed herself. They weren’t able to go back to her place, as Brandi and Irina had a night planned, but Thomas brought her to his place. They made love sweetly and tenderly, but Thomas could tell there was something on her mind. Wisely, he decided not to press matters and let her fall asleep in his arms. He didn’t. You know that we are not immune to every thing that might happen."Oh, hell, you have just proved that I don't know everything! Now, I would like to know where we can get some more of those wonderful things." The two kids laughed at that, and the strain was relieved. Dammit, I was right about one thing—I had two smart kids!We moved on before anybody could connect us with the fire in the car. It would have been nice to get some information from the ISIL people in the car, but That would not have.